Tim, Jeffrey, Bret and Michael are left alone to play, and the frat party vibe starts up right out of the gate.

Well, boys will be boys.

Deep Geeking: Tim, Jeffrey, Michael and Bret discuss just about anything and everything about the women of Babylon 5 and the portrayal of sex and sexuality on the show.

The only thing missing was a wall full of pinups for them to daydream over.

Fear not, there will soon be a girls night out where we’ll discuss sex a little bit more, and also the Babylon 5 beefcake selection!

Voicemail: John from Jersey weighs in on whether or not the unstated tension between Garibaldi and Sheridan in “Sleeping in Light” was related to the events leading up to the bombardment of Centauri Prime; Joe in Anaheim recounts his first time seeing “Sleeping in Light”; Neil from Bowie wonders along with Edmund if we’ll continue the podcast beyond Babylon 5 into discussing other works by JMS; Neil asks Jeffrey about the extras who appeared in final large crowd scene; Brian from NY weighs in on the question about any connection between Last Starfighter and B5; Gary comments on the final toast at the dinner in “Sleeping in Light”.

More Parody/Filk Songs Wanted: If you know of any more B5-related fan songs out there, definitely let us know, so we can let other B5 fans know where to buy them! And if those CDs are out of print, let’s brainstorm on ways to get those songs back out there for fans!

Future possible podcast topic: Sex in SF Literature. Discussing attraction is cute and fun, but try covering, for example, why genre stories seem to include mixed species organisms all the time. This is a borrowing of the mixed race hybrids seen in standard literature from Shakespeare to Showboat. Blending houses to secure political aims is one purpose. Highlighting discrimination, such as the drop of Negro blood used in Showboat, is one. Roddenberry’s Spock hybrid of human and Vulcan jumped to the level of inter-species as opposed to inter-racial. This is a real stretch, even for a SF writer!

I believe that JMS never liked this approach and that’s one of the reasons he pushed forward on showing Londo’s genitalia. What makes you think that a Centari female could mate with a human? I always thought that JMS was making this point, but I have no written proof. Anyone know, or maybe this would make a good topic.

I find it far easier to accept Delenn’s change in a cocoon of advanced tech than the sexual creation of a mixed species child. But it does make for easy drama if you’re the script writer. JMS, it seemed, never took the easy way.

Satai, we hesitated because, as men, we are always hedging our bets. The obvious answer for every question would have been “both!” which is, frankly, a cheat.

Michael, I think the issue of interspecies offspring is used by writers who are in the “softer” end of the SF spectrum. (David Gerrold made a convincing arguement that Star Trek isn’t science fiction but rather morality tales wrapped in the clothes of SF). The point here is that interspecies isn’t meant to be scientifically plausible, it’s meant to be an examination of “the other’ and how we relate to that other. One could argue that JMS did indeed touch on interspecies reproduction – Delenn, half-human half-Minbari, successfully mates with John Sheridan.

This was my favorite B5 podcast EVER! It was cathartic for me, in that this is precisely the debate I’ve always wanted to have with my mates about one of my favorite shows, but never could. Most of my peers are stodgy, dried-up Republican types whose idea of a stimulating conversation is bragging about their stock portfolios. The idea of talking to them about getting a gill job in a hot tub with Lyta the telepath is just… well, it would never happen.
My thanks to the B5 crew for doing a show on what we really most care about; namely, who are the foxiest babes in the B5 Universe, and who would we most want to boink! A real manly episode.
For the record, I vote: Ivanova over Locksley; Lyta over Tallia; Dodger over Lise; and Catherine Sakai over them all!